A local man in his seventies has been arrested for applying for two different identity cards in the 1990s and defrauding the local government by receiving double benefits since 2008, Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Cheong Kim Fong said during a regular press conference yesterday.
The 73-year-old suspect surnamed Lam told the police he’s retired.
According to Cheong, the Identification Services Bureau (DSI) in July discovered that two ID cards had the same Chinese name and fingerprints, but different name spellings in the Western alphabet. Suspecting that someone had used different kinds of information to apply for two identity cards, the bureau reported the case to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP) and subsequently referred it to the Judiciary Police for further investigation.
Cheong added that since 2008 Lam had been using both identities to receive double cash handout benefits, medical vouchers, and consumption vouchers from the local government, fraudulently obtaining a total of approximately 153,000 patacas. Additionally, Lam had been using both identity documents for entering and exiting Macau.
Under questioning, Lam confessed and told the police that his father assisted him in registering his Hong Kong identity card using a distinct spelling and birthdate. It was only upon his return to work and this residing in Macau in 1995 that he decided to synchronise his documents with the Hong Kong identity by reapplying for a Macau identity card. Lam admitted to succumbing to greed and exploiting the possession of two identity cards with different spellings of his name in the Western alphabet to obtain duplicated welfare benefits and subsidies.
Lam has been transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP), facing document forgery and fraud charges, according to Cheong.
Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Cheong Kim Fong looks on during a regular press conference yesterday.
– Photo: William Chan
